Liability
by Taam.HP
Summary: "You were forced upon me, you are a liability. I do not love you, I will never love you Arianna." What happens when on the day of your sister's wedding she decides to leave the groom at the altar and you're asked to marry your brother-in-law to be?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

It's the day of her sister's wedding and 18 year old Arianna Preston couldn't be more excited. The wedding is what the daily prophet is referring to the 'Wedding of the decade'. Olivia Preston, daughter of Robert Preston who is the owner of Preston hotel, a chain of five star wizard hotels across the world, marrying the heir to the Malfoy Empire. It is indeed any girls dream wedding with decorators hired from all over the world to give the 3000 guests and the happy bride and groom the best day of their lives.

What happens on the day of the wedding when the bride chooses to let it all fall to pieces? What happens when the wedding which is highly anticipated by the whole wizard community threaten to turn into the biggest disaster faced by either family.

No one is prepared for the humiliation no one is willing to endure it, not when there's so much at stake. Both high profile families come up with a plan that will not only deceive the world but will also ruin to young lives.

Arianna is the ideal daughter, the apple of her parent's eye. She has always considered her Father to be her biggest hero, her idol. She would give her life for him, and when he begs her to take her sisters place at the alter she makes the biggest sacrifice she can, eventually agreeing to marry her brother-in-law. Arianna leaves behind her life which she considered perfect and another love she expected to last a life time, her boyfriend Noah.

Draco Malfoy has a secret, he never truly loved Olivia Preston but prepared for a life with her for his Father's sake. He had made a resolution to not open his heart to any girl, especially after past experiences and his involvement in the war. When he is finally beginning to fall for her charm, Olivia leaves him, looking like a fool on their wedding day. That blow he can stand but to be ask to marry Olivia's kid sister Arianna? The girl just seemed to fade into the background whenever she was around her sister, there was absolutely nothing about her which could make him consider as his wife. Draco could not have dreamt a worse nightmare for himself to live in if he tried.

This is the story of Arianna and Draco and how there life's changed due to the selfish actions of a person they both loved. Can Arianna ever see Draco as more than the man her sister was supposed to marry? Can Draco ever allow himself to feel love and more importantly, will he ever give Arianna a place in his heart, the one place she can rightfully claim is hers and hers alone.


	2. Chapter 2

I was brushing my hair in the penthouse suit when I first heard the voices. Loud, panicked voices and the heated sound of people arguing. Not again I thought to myself, rolling my eyes. People had been arguing all day over the smallest of things. The flowers, the food, the seating arrangements, the décor, you name it and there was a problem with it. I wasn't surprised though my Mother and Sister were perfectionists. I pitied the wedding planner who'd taken upon the impossible task of not only pleasing my sister but my Mother and Lady Malfoy as well.

Olivia's wedding was all anybody called talk about for months, since the engagement. Not that I minded, I loved weddings. There was something about the 'tell death do us part' line that got me every time. The idea of two people deciding to spend their lives together was so utterly romantic and everything about a wedding symbolized that decision for me. Though it had surprised me that my elder sister had agreed to a wedding after dating Draco for only a few months. But I guess when you find the 'one' there isn't a lot left to think about.

I giggled at the thought of finding the 'one'. Hopefully id managed to find my soul mate too. Noah was everything I could ask for and more. Sweet, romantic, sensitive, and compassionate, he was the ideal boyfriend and I had fallen hook line and sinker. He would be here today and the idea of seeing him in a tux made butterflies appear in the pit of my stomach. Oh I had it bad.

I got up to examine myself in the full length mirror place in my room, ignoring the increasingly loud voices that had started coming from the hallway. Whatever it was that was wrong could be handled, just like that it had been handled previously. Seriously, they just needed to calm down.

I twirled a strand of curled long brown hair around my finger and fidgeted with my figure hugging my cream dress. Of course it had been selected by my sister and I had no say in the choice, it was her wedding after all.

The resemblance between myself and my sister was almost prominent. Both of us had deep brown hair, the same hazel eyes and both of us were cursed with the same pale skin which refused to go any darker. Olivia always said people would kill for our creamy skin tone but I wished my hours spent at the beach would pay off.

The dress was fitted at the bust, the sweetheart neckline only revealing an appropriate amount of cleavage. A bow right under the bust tightened the grip on my waist and the skirt of the dress skimmed my body, hugging the area around my hips. It was hard being in it but if I do say so myself, it made me feel and look gorgeous. Olivia did inherit our Mother's exquisite taste.

I was examining myself in the mirror for the millionth time when suddenly an assortment of people walked in halting me in my tracks. My parents, Olivia's in-laws the Malfoy's, and her fiancé Draco along with my Uncle Collin and my Aunt Ophelia all stormed right in without so much of a knock but the look on their faces made that thought go away immediately. Worry was etched on their features and my mother looked pale enough to faint at any moment. Dread filled my body as I realized something terrible has happened. It was how defeated and disappointed my father looked that told me that the problem was bigger than the usual wedding woes. He was never one to worry about the small things and was generally a very optimistic man; if something had managed to take a toll on him then it has to be bad.

"What is it?" I found myself trembling when I asked the question, my heart racing a mile.

No one answered; they looked like they didn't have the courage the answer my question. I looked around at all of them, waiting for someone to speak up.

Mrs Malfoy placed a hand on her husband's arm just as he was about to say something. He looked red in the face, like he was barely controlling his fury and I shuddered at the thought of witnessing one of his famous tantrums.

After what seemed like an eternity my Aunt Ophelia answered, her face contorting into a mask of pain and sorrow.

"Honey, we found this in your sister's room." She said holding a piece of parchment. I walked towards her, my legs shaking as I did so and grabbed it from her. On it, my sister's perfect handwriting were the words written _I'm sorry but I can't do this. I can't go through with this wedding, I don't love him. Please understand I am doing this for both of us. I'm going away and I'm not sure if I ever plan on coming back. Don't try to find me and please don't hate me. _

A gasp left my lips as I held the note in my trembling hands. This could not be happening, it had to be some kind of sick joke that everyone was playing on me. My eyes searched their faces for any sign of contradiction but there was none. Everyone was just as shocked as I was and just as hurt. However one face confirmed that horrifying fact.

Draco. He looked so broken, so dejected and crushed that I felt my heart ache for him. His shoulders were slumped in defeat, his entire body tensed and stiffened, and his fists clenched. That however wasn't the worst part, the worst was how he was trying to be strong and not give away the amount of pain he felt but I could see it. His eyes told a story of their own and there was no false story in them. How could Olivia have done this to him?

"Ari we know that this must be so difficult for you but the fact is that we have a wedding to go to in less than four hours with over three thousand people arriving."

I looked at my Aunt like she had lost her mind, what wedding? The bride had run away, she had made a terrible mess and left us all to deal with the frightening consequences that were surely to follow. There wasn't going to be a wedding anymore, how could there be?

As if reading my mind, my father spoke up, his voice completely lacking confidence I normally associated with, "We can't cancel the wedding Sweetheart. It'll ruin us, all of us. If a wedding doesn't take place today not only will we be utterly humiliated but we could stand to lose everything." He choked out and I stared at him stupidly not knowing where this was headed.

My mother looked at me with her pleading eyes, "We need you Ari. You're the only one who can save this family now."

Approximately four hours late I was taken to the church followed closely but my Mother, my Aunt and a few other cousins who had been told the truth. A long veil covered my face and the dress, my Mother charmed to fit my frame perfectly. My sister's wedding dress.

The music began to play and I fixed my gaze firmly to the ground, begging myself to not let any tears escape. My Father linked his arm with mine as everyone else left the room.

"Ari, honey you have no idea what this means to us." He whispered in my ear and I nodded my head slightly, not trusting myself to speak.

It was to the beat of a traditional wedding march that I walked towards the altar, my Father gripping my arm tightly, comforting me but all the while suffocating me. He let go of me when we reached where Draco and his best man stood and after completing his duty of giving me away, left me alone to face the biggest step of my life.

The vows were said, the lies concealed as I took Draco Malfoy to be my husband, for better or worse. My actions were mechanical, my tone robotic. I had always dreamt of the day I would get married now I knew better. Those dreams hadn't been dreams to being with; they had been signs of the nightmare to come.

One sentence, I whispered one sentence as the priest pronounced us as husband and wife, hoping somehow he would hear my words, "I love you Noah, please forgive me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys :) I am starting a tumblr for this story, with photos and lots of little snippets. If there is anything you would like to see just let me know :) **

**URL **** blog/liabilityfanfiction**

**Please review this story and let me know if you like it :) **

**I'm still trying to pic actor's and actress' to portray these characters, so far I've thought of Mila kunis for Olivia and Lucy Hale for Arianna, let me know your thoughts :)**

I leant my head against the Ministry car window, as we drove in silence. I wasn't in the mood to talk right now, I could barely even look at him without wanting to wrench my own heart out. How had this happened? How did this day that was supposed to be so perfect, turn into a nightmare? How could Olivia do this? To me? To her family? To Draco?

The car came to a holt outside a huge mansion, Malfoy mansion to be exact. I had been here a couple of times before with my Family. Now Draco was married his parents had retired to a beach house off the coast of Scotland, which left Draco in charge of the large estate. It was engulfed in darkness as I peered out the window. The car came to a complete stop and Draco sprang out of his seat, slamming the door behind him.

I followed meekly behind him, I walked up the front steps and found Draco ordering around a house elf in the parlour.

"Dinky will take you to your room," Was all he said before he stormed off. I stood in awe of the large ceiling and the tiny elf approached me.

"If Mistress is ready, Dinky will show Mistress the way," I nodded and made my way after the elf. The mansion was elegant in a dark and mysterious way, not where I had imagined myself living.

I followed the elf down many twists and turns until finally we stopped in front of a door, he opened the door and I almost gasped. The room was quite impressive, with a large white canopy bed and matching white furniture, it was much like my room back home. Which made me wonder if this was meant to be Olivia's room. I laid down on the soft bed, exhaustion taking over me, and that's when it hit me, I had gotten married today, I had gotten married and it wasn't to Noah, my love. Tears leaked from my eyes and I rolled over and cried my heart out in the darkness that had now become my life.

Days had passed, I woke with a start, my breathing considerably heavy and my eyes puffy. Had I cried myself to sleep again? Apparently I had, I tried not to sleep at all, and the less I slept the less nightmares I had. It would be the same thing time and time again. Walls closing in on me, a window on the other side which Noah stood, smiling at me. I tried to break the barrier between us but the time would always run out, the walls would always close in on me and id wake up screaming.

I wondered if Draco heard the screaming, if it had any effect on him. Since the day we arrived home, I hadn't seen Draco. I was glad for the overly large mansion, because to people could live together without having to see each other. Draco lived on the second floor, I lived on one of the upper floors. It was convenient for both of us, since Draco could come and go as he pleased and I could enjoy the solitude. The only company I had, were the house elves who come to clean and serve me food.

An owl at the window, gave me a reason to get out of bed. The owl held a letter from Noah, I sighed blinking back tears before scrunching it up and throwing it in the waste bin. Fifty times, that was the number of times Noah had owled me in the past hour and also the number of letters I had thrown in the bin unread. A part of me was dying as I did this to him but an even larger part was already dead. A kind of numbness had crept over me and as a result of that, I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing, the shock had been so great, that it had rendered me incapable of acting the way a normal person would under the circumstances.

I pulled on my robe as I began to shivering in the silk night gown my Aunt Ophelia had brought me for my 16th birthday. My things had been sent from my parents' house and I had quite the break down the day they arrived. My clothes, shoes, books, old photographs, all of it came perfectly packed in boxes. I laughed bitterly to myself as I remembered the fact that they hadn't sent me a single thing that could possibly relate to Noah. The gifts he'd given me, a framed photograph, the occasional teddy bear, some jewellery, none of it was there. My Mother must have thought that it was better, not to have any reminders of the past in my new life.

I walked out to the balcony that was attached to my room and took in the morning air and the beautiful view of the grounds. The sound of someone appariting made me jolt and I looked down to see Draco staggering towards the front steps. Wait had he been out all night? Another pop and I looked back down and saw a leggy brunette giggling as she stumbled after Draco. My heart stopped, at first I thought maybe it was Olivia, maybe she had come back, and maybe just maybe my life could be saved. But the brunette turned and I saw the brunette's face, it wasn't Olivia and my hope diminished again. Draco walked back over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. There was a slight clumsiness to his walk, a strong indication that he was drunk. I gulped as I watched them stunned as they mble in the door and continue to have a heated make-out session in the in the door and continue to have a heated make-out session in the foyer. I waited for the pain to come but it didn't, I felt nothing. He could do whatever he wanted, I didn't care. I tore my eyes away from the two and headed into the bathroom for a shower.

Two hours later as I was randomly reading a book in my room, when I heard something shatter outside. The house elves wouldn't go around breaking things, but it was possible they had done it by accident, so I just shrugged and went back to my book. The sounds continued to come, loud sounds of things being thrown on the ground, of objects being violently broken and that's when I realized that it could only be one person. After a few more minutes I decided that was enough.

With a determined look on my face I left the safety of my room, only to find the living room in complete apocalyptic condition. Everything had been turned upside down and everything that could potentially be destroyed had been reduced to pieces. Lamps were broken, vases were shattered, paintings strewn across the floor and cushions ripped open. In the middle of it all stood Draco with his wand out, looking absolutely murderous and when his eyes met mine, his rage if it was possible increase tenfold.

To be honest, I was terrified. He looked so angry, so furious that it automatically sent a shiver down my spine. I began to walk away from him, retreating carefully so as to not attract attention but I wasn't careful enough. Draco caught up to me before I could make it back to my room, grabbing my arm and pushing me up against the wall. I felt sickened as I smelled the alcohol on his breath, his grey eyes bore into mine. I cowered against his touch, his grip on my arm never losing its firmness.

"Draco," I whispered, hoping he'd catch the pleading in my voice.

"Shut up! Shut the hell up," he yelled at me, I instinctively closed my eyes, terrified of what was going to come now. Would he hit me? Did he hate me that much?

I looked at him questionably, tears stinging my eyes as I fought to hold it all together. I'd been dreading this moment, waiting for him to break and blame me for ruining his life. I wanted to tell him that this was as hard for me as it was for him but I doubt he'd care. The alcohol in his system had taken away his rationality and there was nothing I could do to make him see sense.

"I couldn't be with that girl I brought home! I couldn't touch her without the guilt eating at me. You did this to me!" He spat and I was left speechless.

He pushed himself off me and struggled to walk straight, he was about to fall when I quickly ran and caught him, his weight crushing me. He muttered a few more incoherent things; I knew were directed to hurt me. I tried my best to support his weight but after struggling greatly, I pulled out my wand and levitated him to his room. I managed to get him into his bed, laying him down though more roughly than I intended. I took his shoes off and placed a blanket on him.

I stared at the sleeping form of my husband and as hard as I tried I couldn't find it in myself to be angry at him. It wasn't his fault, what he's been subjected to was not what he earned. He hated me I knew that I was far from loving him but there was something I needed to do, something which that would eventually heal his heart.

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